Shaking the Family Tree: A Journey from Addiction to Recovery

By Dallas H

There was a boogie man in the closet and its name was alcoholism.

 

This story is not for the faint at heart. Shaking the Family Tree is an anonymous personal memoir of a recovering alcoholic. It is interlaced with poetic offerings that take the reader to the heart and soul of

• Language: English
• Publisher: Written Dreams Publishing
• Release date: Apr 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998762395

Dallas H

Dallas H. lives in a small, friendly city in the Northern West Virginia. In addition to being a recovering alcoholic, she is a proud mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She is also a part-time employee at a local bank, a loving sister, a loyal friend, and a poet. Dallas considers herself to be just another run-of-the-mill alcoholic and refuses to allow that aspect of her makeup to define her. In 2017, Dallas will celebrate 30 years of continuous sobriety. And although she understands that this fact will not negate the genetic pre-disposition that curses her family, she hopes it may have a positive impact on those others, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren who may be at risk.

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Praise for Shaking the Family Tree

The author eloquently captures the breadth and depth of the tentacles that constitute alcoholism. Her account of the dawning awareness of her own alcoholism which was buried in the family mire of same is quite revealing.

—Bonnie Nussbaum, PH.D, Holistic Coach and Psychologist

"Shaking the Family Tree has an edginess that grabbed me immediately and, frankly, brought up the tension in my gut that always appears when the subject of addiction comes up. Dallas H. doesn’t mince words about addiction in all its disguises. And they are many: Popping legal pills or overeating common foods, injecting a substance in a vein or drinking expensive alcohol from crystal glasses. Sometimes addictions sneak into a life and into a family like a thief in the night and what they steal is noticed a little at a time, if at all. In other cases, they crash through the front door and haul away everything at once. Inevitably, though, addiction steals from groups—whole families, who too often pretend nothing is wrong, or that only that one person is causing a problem. The older I get, the more I see how addiction of one form or another is found in every branch of my own family and the one I married into. Like the author, I’ve made so many connections and see how lives can be marginalized because of addiction, but slowly healed in recovery. Few books I’ve read on the subject even talk about addicts describing themselves as low bottom or high bottom addicts. But that’s part of the profile as well. I recommend the book not only to read about one individual, but to see addiction within a personal, but much bigger, picture."

—Virginia McCullough, award-winning author of Island Healing

"Shaking the Family Tree is a beautiful mixture of poetry and prose wrapped around the daunting world of alcohol and drug addiction. The massive tornado alcoholism causes an entire family is what we are faced with in Dallas’s story, but it’s her recovery that reminds us of God’s power to stop the wind from blowing."

—Anthony Flores, Author of Lazarus Rising

Shaking the Family Tree

A Journey from Addiction to Recovery

Dallas H

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Shaking the Family Tree: A Journey from Addiction to Recovery by Dallas H, copyright © 2017 by Dallas H.

This book is a true story about the real life of Dallas H. Permission has been obtained where possible for the use of names in the book, and changed, where persons wanted their identity to remain anonymous.This book reflects the opinions of the author and her life’s decisions. Written Dreams Publishing does not approve, condone or disapprove of these opinions. It is up to the reader to make their own decisions.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher, Written Dreams Publishing, Green Bay, WI 54311.

A special thank you to the following individuals and organizations for their assistance: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, ACA World Service Organization, Claudia Black, Ph.D., and her book, It Will Never Happen to Me, and Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse and Joseph Cruse, and their book, Understanding Co-Depenency (the Science Behind It and How Break the Cycle).

The Twelve Steps are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.) Permission to reprint the Twelve Steps does not mean that A.A.W.S. has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that A.A. necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only- use of the Twelve Steps in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, or in any other non-A.A., does not imply otherwise.

In accordance with its traditions, ACA World Service Organization expressly disclaims any association with any authors or books, or with any retailers and their affiliates.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Editing: Brittiany Koren

Cover art design and Layout: Ed Vincent of ENC Graphics.

Cover Images: Shutterstock.com

Category: Self-Help/Inspirational Prose & Poetry

Description: A woman’s struggle with alcoholism addiction and her journey to recovery.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9987623-8-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9987623-9-5

Library of Congress Catalog Info: Applied For.

First Edition published by Written Dreams Publishing April, 2017

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Green Bay, WI 54311

This book is dedicated to anyone out there who thinks that they may be suffering from alcohol or drug addiction. Be it huffed, puffed, snorted, injected, popped or ingested. It is a thief that will take away all of your hopes, your dreams, and perhaps, even your life. Your friends, family, and all of your relationships will suffer, often in silence, as they ride that elevator down with you, to your bottom.

Our stories may not be exactly alike. Our drinking and using patterns may vary. But the most damaging thread that weaves all of our fabric into a shared tapestry is a three-syllable word: Denial. It is the blindfold that we wear to our own execution.

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Alcoholic

I’ve trudged many miles to get to this; my vanishing point. I have not traveled alone. I drag behind me generations of my kind. We often travel in packs, keeping others at bay, hoarding our secret. The vast terrain that has claimed many of us is strewn with the souls of those who sought escape from poverty, abuse, low self-esteem, and life in general. We found a magic elixir. It became our family’s coat of arms.

seduction

hides inside a Goddess

venus flytrap

For a while, it erased our fears and insecurities. We gulped greedily from its promise as it seeped through the cracks in our armor. We dressed in layers of false courage, fluffed our feathers and strutted across life’s stage, immune to the snickers of a disgusted audience. We cast aside our problems and they became the property of those we loved. Then, without warning, It betrayed us.

heir declines offer

cannot afford to pay

inheritance tax

How does one measure loss? In increments of currency, in a log of failures penned in stained tears, or perhaps, on the pages of our calendars crammed full of wasted years? I used to think that once important things were declared lost, they were gone forever.